A Clash of Situations
by slytherincailin
Summary: AU. Kirk and his crew have embarked upon a five-year mission of exploration. An unforeseen circumstance forces the Enterprise into a world of unknown circumstance, where reality and life as they know it has been altered. This is a world of violence and blood-lust, in which logic is a trait not yet revered by Vulcan. Slash, Violence, Alternate settings. Spock/Kirk
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: The following is a work of fiction written entirely for entertainment purposes. No payment is received for the production of this work and the world of Star Trek is owned exclusively by Gene Roddenberry (The Original Series) and by J.J. Abbrams (Reboot 2009). **

_Chapter One_

_Look! Look at the sky, oh it's beautiful... Dark and wonderful and filled with empty space that is mine to own and mine to live beneath. These stars were the stars of my ancestors, the stars my children would gaze upon. These were my stars. No planet could hide them from me, could take away the knowledge that, no matter where I go or who stands behind me, my stars exist somewhere that is everywhere. Oh wake up, wake up, look at the sky! Look at the sky! Wake up!_

_Ashayam?_

A blonde head quirked, pale eyes wide in a darkened room as slender hands worked to free the tangles from the gentle tumble of soft hair. No sound left his lips save for his gentle breathing, his long fingers treading through the generous locks of his own brilliant curls where they fell soundly to his lap as he sat cross-legged on the cushioned seating panel, his pale body alit beneath the ever-lightening sky outside the huge window.

_I can hear you, Ashayam. _The man woken from his slumber teased the mind that fluttered like a little bird against his own, dark eyes slanting towards the blonde. A stir in the semi-darkness, movement as he heaved himself up onto his elbows, the bed-sheets rustling around him, he smiled at the small figure in his windowsill. "It never fails to unnerve me, that chaotic mess that is your mind, t'nash-veh tamsu."

Husky laughter, light and sweet fell from pink lips, blue eyes tracing over the lean form of the man within the bed. A body sleek with muscle and honoured with the scarring of war, those long legs far outmatching his own though he took pleasure in knowing his beautiful hair would always be longer than his beloved's straight, black locks.

There was a fluttering of humour across their bond and he leaned into it, fingers leaving his own blonde hair to drop to his lap. "Your dancer? I have not danced for you, Ashayam, in many months... I fear my body has forgotten."

A pause and a sudden blur of movement and he was captured, in strong arms he was held and lain upon his back on their bed, so swiftly his thoughts followed the happenings almost lazily. A gentleness wrapped around his mind, soothing to the manic thoughts that his night-time awakenings often brought, the ramblings he sometimes could not cease. He sank into that embrace with a wanton sigh, his legs falling open with ease to allow the gentle slide of the other man between them.

_You dance for me in many ways... James._

The blonde head tilted back as his mate's, his lover's, his master's voice floated across the bond he had linked between them; a bond more secure than any marriage or slavery he could have otherwise found himself in. A bond of protection and love, sacred among all of his master's kind.

James ran slender hands through his lover's silken hair, catching a brown gaze and holding it in the dim light.

_I would dance for you forever, Spock. My friend... My master... My T'hy'la. _

###

"Spock!"

"Yes, Captain?"

Jim jumped, mouth twisting in a rueful smile as he spun to find his first officer not a foot behind where he was standing.

"Sorry, thought you were..." Blue eyes caught brown, the Vulcan's eyebrow quirking in that fashion that Jim had begun to think was reserved for his slip ups and his alone. He coughed, his mouth a grimace. "Any change in the current course that I need to be aware of? That ion cloud we passed through scrambled my reader and if what Scotty was saying about the planet we're headed to is right then I can see us coming up against rougher currents the nearer we get."

Mr. Spock had moved to stand by Kirk's side, his gaze flitting with no small amount of disinterest to the scrambled scanner even as his hands came around to grasp it for a closer look. "Indeed, Captain," his voice was toneless, though Jim was content to imagine a degree of dry wit behind his first officer's stoic behaviour. "Mr. Scott perceives the new planet discovered by our readers to be of a highly charged magnetic field. It would be logical to draw such a conclusion as to expect a seventy eight per cent increase in the strength of ion currents as we near. May I suggest we exit warp before coming into contact with such a field? The distance could prove beneficial for the production of the Enterprise."

"We're already knocked off timing as it is." Jim sighed, his brow furrowing as Spock returned his personal scanner to Jim's seat, fully functional once more. Computers, computers were always Jim's forte, he would never understand how Spock managed to rewire and fix mechanical gizmo's in the blink of an eye.

"Alright, we'll drop out before we're estimated to reach the planet's main pull, but at this rate it's gonna be another twenty four hours before we reach scanning distance of the place."

"Nineteen hours and twenty six minutes, Captain."

Jim had to restrain the snort of humour in his throat, instead turning a wry grin on his commanding officer. "Yes, thank you, Mr. Spock. That'll be all."

###

_I do not like it._

A tread of exasperation coated an otherwise patient bond, wiped away almost immediately against the gentle coaxing of his mate.

"I understand, James, that you've never been aboard a ship that has not been carting you somewhere against your will but we must board this vessel. My fleet is waiting for me and their bondmates for you. If you do not come with me, we face a year apart and such distance would wreak havoc on our bond and on you. I care only for your safety and to have my bondmate by my side, Ashayam."

James regarded the big, hulking vessel, his young face barely passed the age of twenty and yet it held all the horrors of his past in vivid show. His blue eyes were haunted but firm, as if resolve was something hard wired into him. Whatever hardship that had ever been thrown his way, James had dealt with it. He nodded once, his scattered thoughts belying his calm mask as Spock gathered him close and moved on swift legs from the boarding hanger to the open maw of the ship. James clutched at the fabric of his mate's training tunic, his eyes sliding shut as he was placed on unsteady ground and the gentle hum beneath his feet signalled the ship's sudden spur of life.

_No, don't sell me, Ashayam... Don't send me away. I am a good dancer, am I not? I can't be sold again... I can't be sold again... I can't..._

"James."

The thoughts were not his present mind, only lingerings of fear and memories from a past best forgotten. He forced the panic down with a grimace, his hands reaching up to clutch where Spock held tight to his shoulders, sending waves of calm and love through their bond.

His eyes snapped open to come face to face with their reflection on the silvery surface of the starship's inner walls. Vulcan was so well known for its love of silver, as though they wanted to recreate the light of a moon they did not have. James stood a foot shorter than his bondamte, his yellow hair in disarray where it fell to his slender hips and his blue tunic and brown boots a splash of colour against his pale skin. His cheeks were lit with a flush of pink as he flicked his eyes up to meet Spock's. The flitter of emotions there was as warm and understanding as it had been since he had first been gifted to the warrior, Vulcan emotions as intense as they were compared to a human's. Spock's sleek hair framed his pale face, tucked behind one pointed ear and cropped to his shoulders as was the way for all Vulcan fighters.

James chuckled, his grip loosening, at his own foolishness. Of course Spock would never sell him.

_I would sooner sell myself, T'hy'la._

_You would look most odd in dancer's muslin, Ashayam. _

Spock's loud laughter was like familiar music to his ears.

Jim groaned, his head a constant drumming, though his last thought was not of falling into bed drunk. No... He remembered...

The blonde bolted up, blue eyes wide and mouth agape as he took in the sight of his bridge. The ship had jolted, he remembered that, lurched to one side like a bad imitation of an ocean liner hitting a rough patch of sea. The lights flickered above his head, almost in time to the pained groaning of his crew. At least he wasn't the only one awake.

"Report!"

His voice was rasping in his throat, as though he'd passed through one too many deserts with little water and swallowing did little to ease his discomfort. What the hell had happened to his ship? One minute they'd been on course, ready to drop out of warp and the next...

"I am uncertain as to what could have occurred, Captain, however I estimate the chances of it being due to both the new planet's magnetics and a passing ion cloud to be at ninety-three point two per cent."

Spock sounded every inch the impeccable Vulcan, though when Jim turned to search for him in the sea of crewmen struggling to regain their footing, he found his first officer kneeling a fraction too close. The Vulcan's full bottom lip had split from some form of impact, a dribble of green blood making his normally immaculate appearance all the more alarming.

"You ok, Spock?"

An almost imperceptible widening of the man's eyes let Jim know that the question seemed to have taken the Vulcan back as he rose to his feet, catching his Captain under the arm to assist him rather than offering his hand as was Spock's custom. "I am adequate, Captain."

Jim cast him a searching look, Spock's eye level just an inch shorter than Jim's own, before the blonde nodded slowly, wincing at the pain that lanced across his head; a stupid move, that. He glanced around once more, thankful to see that everyone seemed to be up and standing and, aside from a few bumps and bruises, no worse for the wear. On legs stiff with shock, Jim made his way to his comm. unit and blew out a breath.

"Hey, Scotty, everyone alright down there?"

A shriek of static made him hiss and toss the thing to the floor, rubbing his ear and scowling when the panicked tones of a Scotsman garbled their way through the crackling communications unit.

"I dunno know wha' 'appened, sir! We were doin' grand an' somethin' pulled us off course. No injuries, though, sir and ah've 'had word from McCoy, says he canna' get through to the bridge but e'ryone's up and about."

"Pulled us off course?" Jim cast a bewildered glance towards Spock, Sulu and Chekov hovering behind him as though reluctant to return to their seats. Jim held the comm. at arms length, his mouth a thin line. "What do you mean, pulled us off course, Scotty? Where are we and is the ship alright?"Jim moved as he spoke, directing Uhura and Sulu to the main view screen in an attempt to bring up some image or navigation that wasn't spinning out of sync.

"Ship's not the best she's ever been, cap'ain, but she'll hold ou' 'till we can dock and clean 'er up. And as fer where we are? Well, sir, I really don' know."

"Captain."

Jim spun to face Sulu, his gut clenching at the fearful look on the young pilots face. "Mr. Sulu?"

"I can't read these scanners, Captain. None of what's around us now makes any sense. We don't even seem to be in the same star system, let alone anywhere near that planet. And... I don't think we're alone."

Uhura let out a triumphant sigh as the main view screen suddenly flickered to life, only for her face to fall and her hands to cover her mouth at the sight that met them. Black space surrounded them, but in the distance, not so far as to appear small or offer comfort that they would go unnoticed, was a ship near ten times their size, shimmering and flitting in and out of sight as though to blend in with the stars that surrounded it.

Jim felt his crew's panic stutter against his chest, his own stomach dropping in confusion. "Any thoughts, Mr. Spock?"

The Vulcan was frowning, subtly and minimally but a frown all the same as he stared at the ship that was definitely turning in their direction. "It may be in our best interest to hail the vessel for assistance, sir." He held up a hand to still Kirk's outbreak, his brown eyes catching the Captain's, "It will be of no benefit to fire or flee, Captain. They will catch us and assume we are fleeing for an altogether different reason. If I'm not mistaken, that is a Vulcan war ship."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

A steady silence as Jim regarded his first officer, his blue eyes narrowed in disbelief.

"Vulcan's don't go to war."

"A statement which is as false as it is true, Captain. Vulcans do not go to war, we seek a peaceful and logical means to communicate and yet, there is logic in preparing for the worst. While my people as a whole may not agree with the concept of violence over science, we do have several warships which, up until two point four minutes ago, I believed to be the remnants of our ancestors and therefore a holding purely for scientific exploration." Spock watched the ship move steadily closer, something akin to wariness painting his calm mask, "In other words, Captain, we were led to believe they were inoperable, relics of the past."

Jim gaped at the Vulcan, skin flushed under the oppressive heat of the bridge, which seemed to be increasing. "What the hell is an ancient Vulcan warship doing in unexplored space?"

Spock's lips were a thin line, his dark brown eyes skimming over the top of Jim's shoulder as though unwilling to meet his gaze. "That is something I simply have no answer for, sir."

"Damn." The curse fell like a snarl as Jim ran pale hands through tousled blonde hair, his cheeks puffing out in a sigh of exasperation. He moved to take the Captain's seat with barely a glance in his crew's direction, motioning them with one distracted hand to be seated. "Uhura," the word was a sigh, as defeated as it was bewildered, "see if you can hail the ship, send out a distress signal if you have to, just don't give them an excuse to start shooting us down."

The normally sweet faced communications' officer was a shade paler, her eyes all but popping as she ran tentative fingers across her console. Jim groaned as he dropped his forehead into one hand, one eye trained on his first officer where the Vulcan stood just outside the range of the communication's screen, his dark eyes still trained on the approaching ship and his hands clasped tightly behind his back. None of this was making any sense.

"Captain, I think I have..."

"K'shatrisu! Ha'kel t'du wilat?"

The voice was one that made Spock freeze where he stood out of range of sight, his head snapping upwards towards where Uhura had dropped their comm. screen. Jim followed his gaze, his eyes landing on a man he had only met once before; the Vulcan ambassador for Earth, Sarek. Namely, Spock's father.

Only, this was not Spock's father. This was a man... a Vulcan so intimidating he appeared twice Sarek's shoulder-width across, who wore a scowl deep-set into his aging face. His greying hair hung to his shoulders and black eyes watched Jim with an intense glare of suspicion, the type of emotion he'd never before seen on any Vulcan.

"Eh..."

"Ri-fainusu, stariben!" That gruff voice was definitely the voice of Ambassador Sarek, though what had the man spouting strange words at him and glaring as though Kirk had asked for his first born child, Jim didn't really know. He opened his mouth, unsure of really how to respond, only for Sarek's piercing eyes to soften and a fleeting moment of bafflement to settle on the man's features.

"James?"

Jim grinned at the screen, tossing his head to throw one wayward curl from his eyeline and raising his hand in the form of the Ta'al, as was custom when greeting the Vulcan officials. "Apologies, Sarek, your appearance startled me and your ship more so. You've no idea how happy I am to see a familiar face after what we've just been through. Is there a way for myself and a few others to beam aboard and seek assistance for the Enterprise? She's not as healthy as I'd like her to be."

His voice trailed off quietly as Sarek suddenly growled across the vid screen, his head whipping around and shouting unfamiliar orders at whoever stood beside him. Spock's near silent plea of "Jim," met his ears before those black eyes bore into his own once more. When the older Vulcan spoke, it was in a Standard rough and accented, as though he had had little cause to speak it his whole life.

"It would be best, James, if you could beam over here and explain why you are out there when my first officer tells me you left the dining chamber of my ship not seven minutes ago."

"I... what?"

Sarek looked almost amused as he watched Jim swivel to stare at Spock, his hands lifting in the universal gesture of cluelessness. As far as he was concerned, Spock's father had turned to the dark side and gone stark raving mad. First commandeering a Vulcan warship into unknown space, donning a long wig and snarling what had to be the language of Vulcan and now trying to tell Jim that he, Jim, was aboard that starship? "Don't look at me like that," Jim hissed, eyes flickering between the patient stare of the elder Vulcan and his own younger Vulcan who was glaring at him in the only way Spock would. "What are we supposed to do, float here till someone else comes along? I don't care if he is gone mad, we need their help and I'm going."

He spun with a scowl that had Sarek, as unnerving as it was, grinning back at him and shaking his head, as though this turn of events was as funny as it was terrifying.

"Alright, sir, two to beam over in the next twenty minutes."

"We await your arrival, James."

###

"I don' like it, Jim and I don't like the fact you're only going over with pointy ears as back up."

Bones scowled from where he stood by the transporter pad, loading a portable medkit that he shoved with no small amount of aggravation into Spock's strap-pack. The thing was already loaded with comm. units and phasers, a sight that made Jim roll his eyes.

"It's his dad, Bones! He's not going to off us, creepy as the whole Vulcan shouting thing was. What's wrong with you two?"

Spock moved to stand beside him, his dark gaze all but making up for the advantage in height Jim had over him. "I am inclined to agree with Doctor McCoy, Captain. The man aboard that ship, while bearing a striking resemblance to my father, acted in ways no logical Vulcan would. It... unsettles me to see Sarek of Vulcan wear his hair in the fashion of our planet's ancient warriors. It would be far more logical to simply ask a small contingent of their own crew to beam to the Enterprise."

Jim rolled his eyes heavenward, though his mind fought hard to tell him that what Spock was saying was true, he pushed it aside. Securing his own lightweight phaser to his belt, Jim stood facing forward and glared at the Engineer who appeared about to add more fuel to the verbal fire. "Energise, Mr. Scott. That is an order."

A soft sigh to his right and the sudden grip on his body as the transporter locked onto him. "Right you are, Cap'ain. God speed."

###

"James?"

Jim spun to face the voice, his mouth splitting into a grin as he caught sight of Ambassador Sarek standing not far behind him. Those black eyes regarded him with warm bemusement before snapping to the form stepping up behind him and widening in recognition.

"Spock..."

His first officer was tense, lips clamped in a firm line and hands held tightly clasped behind a spine so straight Spock appeared more tense than he should have been, his sleek body seeming almost small now that Jim was looking at Sarek's bulky mass. The smaller Vulcan regarded the man watching him with confusion evident in his eyes. "Though it is evident that you appear to know me and I acknowledge that you believe yourself to be Sarek of Vulcan and know that I am Spock, son of Sarek; I estimate the likelihood of you being my Sire at approximately 0.000012 per cent."

Jim winced, only to jump when balky laughter met his ears and he turned open-mouthed to stare at a Vulcan whom he had never seen so much as twitch an eyebrow. The several men surrounding Sarek wore smiles of genuine amusement, one in particular casting an appreciative glance over Spock that had Jim furrowing his brow. They spoke in that harsh language of open vowels and sudden stops, Sarek watching Jim frown at them with a small smile.

"What are they saying?"Jim hissed to Spock, moving backwards until he bumped against the stiff figure that was his first officer. Rather than recoil as he often did, Spock snapped out a pale hand to grip Jim's arm in firm fingers, as if unsure whether these strangers would take the Captain.

"They seem to be discussing a small rip in the space time continuum that exists east of this point. Though not large enough to warrant panic or even caution, it has often occurred that starships become trapped for a small period within the same time warp or frame. They believe a mishappening on our part has led to us being inadvertently fed through this rip." The Vulcan tightened his grip as the speaking lessened and the others turned to face them once more. "In simple terms, Jim, they believe we have been pushed from our own reality and into theirs."

"Like Selek?" Jim whispered wide-eyed, his memories flitting to the older version of Spock he had almost come to call a friend. He darted a glance away from the strange, new version of Sarek to stare at Spock. The Vulcan offered him only the minutest glance before nodding swiftly.

"T'hy'la in every universe. I must say I am thankful, my son, that regardless of what may fall upon you or who you may believe your father to be, you have your James by your side."

"Thy-la?" Jim whirled to face Sarek, his steps hesitant and slowed by the grip Spock maintained on his arm as Sarek beckoned for them to follow him from the transporter room. The group remained silent, seemingly willing to ignore Jim's question even as a muscle ticked in his first officer's cheek. "Spock?"

"No need to fear, Sa-fu, no harm will come to you here."

Spock drew him closer at the unfamiliar word, his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes dark as they watched Sarek. They walked in silence through the corridors of the ship, warmed to a temperature that, despite his unease at what he had just been told, was lulling Jim into a state of weariness. He must have hit his head harder than he thought.

People passed them as they moved in their group, the Vulcans around them appearing more like standing guards with each passing minute and less like the curious scientists Jim had come to associate with all Vulcans. Questions, scattered thoughts milled through his mind and he let them pass, lips dry and unwilling to word anything that would disrupt the peaceful atmosphere of the ship.

Because it was peaceful.

More calming than the lively noise of the Enterprise and lit with a dull lighting that left long shadows. He found himself leaning more fully into the grip of his first officer, uncaring for the moment that Spock had always been adverse to touching him and would recoil as soon as Jim was safely away from the alternate Sarek. All that mattered was the gentle calm that cooled the panic of his mind.

"Here we are," Sarek drew to a stop, sliding the panel of a door and allowing the Vulcans that had followed him to enter before looking to Jim, his dark eyes alight with a curiosity that was strange to see. It was becoming alarmingly obvious just how different this species was to the men and wome of Vulcan Jim had known in his world.

"Where exactly is here, if you don't mind me askin'? I'm all for hospitality but I've a crew stranded out there in my ship and I doubt they'd be much interested in knowin' their Captain is relaxing himself while they try to maintain function." Jim edged his way through the door behind Sarek, a painfully tense Spock remaining not a hair's breadth from his side, his pale fingers refusing to release the grip they maintained around Jim's arm. What the hell had gotten into his first Officer?

"The dining chamber... Captain James," Sarek looked back at him with no small amount of amusement, his dark eyes alight as he waved away the curious glances thrown in the group's direction by the other Vulcans and walked both Jim and Spock to a table near the front. "As for your crew, please do not fear. I'll have my Commander send word to your ship to dock in the port and assist in any technical issues you should be facing. It would be most unwise to leave a hundred or so humans sitting defenceless in open space. You are blessed, James, that it was I who discovered you." The Vulcan's brows drew down, his lips twisting in a scowl. "Humans sell for much in this world and very few are treated fairly by their masters."

Spock's fingers tightened painfully around Jim's arm, his Commander's brown eyes trained on the Vulcan across from them as a man who must have been Sarek's Commander placed a tray of liquid-filled mugs on the table before them before taking a seat. Jim cast a glance down at the Vulcan, wetting his lips before he brought wary eyes back up to the Captain. "Humans are sold in this world? All of them?"

Sarek nodded, his mouth a grim line. "It is not a process I agree with, my friend, know that now. There are many on Vulcan who fear we have lost our path from the Gods and have turned to savagery and bloodlust above honour and the bond of brotherhood. Vulcan is a divided land, rarely a season cycle will go by without a battle." The man Jim knew as Spock's father took a mug in his scarred hands, swirling the cool liquid within before setting it down once more, a nervous habit. "The humans of Earth were a species uneducated in space travel and unwilling to progress, they were a simple people so torn apart by wars of their own. When we saw that they would lead to their own extinction, we sought to intervene and brought upon Earth the attentions of many other races; Andorians, Orions, Romulan. The human people were admired for their open nature, they were psi-null but no less pleasing as a source of company and all the more endearing for their lack of advancement. When we learned they could interbreed with most other species, they became a target for the Slave Market, a slave market that exists to this day in Vulcan."

There was a grimace to his features as Sarek turned to Spock, dark eyes softening as he took in the man's short hair and petite frame. Slender to the point of near-adolescence and androgenous to a fault; this version of his son was one that both filled him with awe and with turmoil. This Spock reminded him of the humans so often taken from their planet. "I find it hard to believe you could have come from such a Vulcan, from a planet torn by battles and opinions and dishonest bondings. You seem so untouched by difficulties. And you!" The man huffed a laugh, reaching out to clasp Jim's hand where it rested against the table before pulling back, "so strong! Never would I have placed a Captain's badge on your chest. For all your golden curls and soft blue eyes, you are a fighter. It is most strange to see the roles reversed in such a way, wouldn't you agree Serbeck?"

The Vulcan by the name of Serbeck, Sarek's Commander, dragged dark eyes over Spock's frame before flicking to Jim dismissively. "Most strange, though if they are anything akin to your son and his James in this reality, then I live in fear of seeing the outcome four of them existing together will have on this poor ship. She is not what she once was."

###

K'shatrisu! Ha'kel t'du wilat : Foreigner, where is your home?

Ri-fainusu, stariben : Stranger, speak

Sa-fu : Son

A/N: a big thank you to my reviewers :)


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